Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 3.10
Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 3.10
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3.10.1
Secondly. I shall now say a few words regarding the celebrated Emir-Jemla, recur to some of the incidents, wherein he was concerned after the termination of the civil war, and mention the manner in which he closed his brilliant career. In effecting the subjugation of Bengale that great man did not behave to Sultan Sujah with the cruelty and breach of faith practised by Gion-Kan, that infamous Patan, towards Dara, or by the Raja of Serenaguer towards Soliman-Chekouh. He obtained possession of the country like a skilful captain, and disdaining any unworthy stratagem to secure Sujah's person, contented himself with driving the discomfited Prince to the sea, and compelling him to leave the kingdom. Emir-Jemla then sent an eunuch to Aureng-Zebe with a letter, supplicating the King to permit his family to repair to Bengale under the eunuch's care. 'The war is happily at an end,' he said, 'and as I am enfeebled and broken down by age, you will not, you surely cannot, refuse me the consolation of passing the remainder of my days with my wife and children.' But Aureng-Zebe penetrated at once into the design of this expert politician; he knew that if his son Mahmet Emir-kan were permitted to visit Bengale, the father, Jemla, would aspire to the independent sovereignty of that kingdom, if indeed such an acquisition would have satisfied the pretensions of that extraordinary man. He was intelligent, enterprising, brave, and wealthy; at the head of a victorious army;
3.10.2
beloved and feared by his soldiers, and in possession of the finest province in Hindoustan. The transactions in which he had been engaged in Golkonda proved his impatient and daring spirit, and directly to refuse compliance with his request would unquestionably have been attended with danger. Aureng-Zebe acted upon this occasion with his wonted prudence and address. He sent to the Emir his wife and daughter, together with his son's children; created him Fig. 7.— Amir Jumla amusing himself in his Zenana, Mir-ul-omrah, the highest rank that can be conferred by the King upon a favourite; and appointed the son, Mahmet Emir-Khan, Grand Bakchis, or Grand Master of the Horse, the second or third situation in the state, which, however, confines the possessor to the court, rendering it difficult, if not impossible, for him to remain at a distance from the King's person. Jemla was also confirmed in the Government of Bengale. Foiled in his object, the Emir felt that a second demand for his son could not be made without offending the King, and that his wisest course was to express gratitude for all these marks of royal favour.
3.10.3
Affairs had remained in this state nearly a twelvemonth, when the Mogul offered to Jemla the management of a war against the rich and powerful Raja of Acham, whose territories lie north of Daka, on the Gulf of Bengale. Aureng-Zebe justly apprehended that an ambitious soldier could not long remain in a state of repose, and that, if disengaged from foreign war, he would seek occasion to excite internal commotions.
3.10.4
The Emir himself had been long meditating this enterprise, which he hoped would enable him to carry his arms to the confines of China, and secure to himself immortal fame. Aureng-Zebe's messenger found him perfectly prepared for the expedition. A powerful army was soon embarked at Daka, on a river flowing from the dominions about to be invaded, and Jemla and his troops ascended the stream in a north-east direction, until they reached a fortress named Azo, distant about one hundred leagues from Dake, which the Raja of Acham had wrested from a former Governor of Bengale. Azo was besieged and taken in less than a fortnight. The Emir then proceeded toward Chamdara, the key of the Raja's dominions, which he reached after a long march of eight-and-twenty days. Here a battle was fought to the Raja's disadvantage, who retired to Guerguon, his capital city, forty leagues from Chamdara; but being closely and vigorously pressed by Jemla, he had not time to fortify himself in that place, and was therefore compelled to continue his retreat to the mountains of the kingdom of Lassa. Chamdara and Guerguon were given up to pillage. The latter contained an infinite booty for the captors. It is a large and well-built city, very commercial, and celebrated for the beauty of its women.
3.10.5
The progress of the invaders was checked by the rains which fell sooner than is customary, and which in this country are very heavy, inundating every spot of ground, with the exception of villages built on eminences. In the mean time, the Raja cleared the whole country, round the Emir's position, of cattle and every kind of provision, so that ere the rains ceased the army was reduced to great and urgent distress, notwithstanding the immense riches which it had accumulated. Jemla found it equally difficult to advance or to recede. The mountains in front presented impracticable barriers, while a retreat was prevented not only by the waters and deep mud, but also by the precaution taken by the Raja to break down the dike which forms the road to Chamdara. The Emir, therefore, was confined to his camp during the whole of the rainy season, and, on the return of dry weather, his men were so dispirited by their incessant fatigue and long privations, that he abandoned the idea of conquering Acham. Under a less able commander, the army could not have hoped to reach Bengale: the want of provisions was severely felt; the mud, being still thick, greatly impeded the motions of the troops, and the Raja was active and indefatigable in pursuit; but Jemla conducted the movements of his army with his usual skill, and by his admirable retreat added greatly to his reputation. He returned laden with wealth.
3.10.6
The Emir, having improved the fortifications of Azo, left a strong garrison in that fortress, intending to renew, early in the following year, the invasion of Acham; but how far is it possible for the body, worn out by old age, to withstand the effects of fatigue? He, as well as others under his command, was not made of brass, and this illustrious man fell a victim to the dysentery which attacked the army soon after their arrival in Bengale. His death produced, as might be expected, a great sensation throughout the Indies. 'It is now,' observed many intelligent persons, 'that Aureng-Zebe is king of Bengale.' Though not insensible of his obligations of gratitude, the Mogol was perhaps not sorry to have lost a vicegerent whose power and mental resources had excited so much pain and uneasiness. 'You mourn,' he publicly said to Mahmet Emir-kan, 'you mourn the death of an affectionate parent, and I the loss of the most powerful and most dangerous of my friends.' He behaved, however, with the utmost kindness and liberality to Mahmet; assured the young man that in himself he should always find a second father; and instead of diminishing his pay, or seizing upon Jemla's treasures, Aureng-Zebe confirmed Mahmet in his office of Bakchis, increased his allowance by one thousand roupies per month, and constituted him sole heir to his father's property.
3.10.7
Thirdly. I shall now bring before the notice of my readers Aureng-Zebe's uncle, Chah-hestkan, who, as I have already said, contributed in an essential degree by his eloquence and intrigues to the exaltation of his nephew. He was appointed, as we have seen, Governor of Agra, a short time before the battle of Kadjoue, when Aureng-Zebe quitted the capital to meet Sultan Sujah. He was afterwards nominated Governor of the Decan, and commander-in-chief of the forces in that province; and, upon Emir-Jemla's decease, was transferred to the government of Bengale, appointed General of the army in that kingdom, and elevated to the rank of Mir-ul-Omrah, which had become vacant by the death of Jemla. I owe it to his reputation to relate the important enterprise in which he was engaged, soon after his arrival in Bengale; an enterprise rendered the more interesting by the fact that it was never undertaken by his great predecessor, for reasons which remain unknown. The narrative will elucidate the past and present state of the kingdoms of Bengale and Rakan, which have hitherto been left in much obscurity, and will throw light on other circumstances which are deserving of attention.
3.10.8
To comprehend the nature of the expedition meditated by Chah-hestkan, and form a correct idea of the occurrences in the Gulf of Bengale, it should be mentioned that the Kingdom of Rakan, or Mog, has harboured during many years several Portuguese settlers, a great number of Christian slaves, or half-caste Portuguese, and other Franks collected from various parts of the world. That kingdom was the place of retreat for fugitives from Goa, Ceylon, Cochin, Malacca, and other settlements in the Indies, held formerly by the Portuguese; and no persons were better received than those who had deserted their monasteries, married two or three wives, or committed other great crimes. These people were Christians only in name; the lives led by them were most detestable, massacring or poisoning one another without compunction or remorse, and sometimes assassinating even their priests, who, to confess the truth, were too often no better than their murderers.